


By My Side

by Pearl_Unplanned



Series: (We Loved 'Till the End) Cap_Ironman Bingo 2016  (2) [7]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: (No one told Tony that), Cap_Ironman Bingo, M/M, Secret Identity, Stony Bingo, that isn't so secret anymore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-11
Updated: 2017-01-11
Packaged: 2018-09-16 18:17:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9284018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pearl_Unplanned/pseuds/Pearl_Unplanned
Summary: The only thing that scared Steve more than anything was the possibility of losing a teammate during a battle. They'd become like a family to him, so the thought of never having them around again really hurt inside. They were his life.Which, of course, doesn't make ANY battle any easier for him.





	

**Author's Note:**

> O4, World is Ending (It Must be Tuesday) --> except the world isn't really ending, it's just another battle with Hydra, really... *shrugs*

 

            The only thing that scared Steve more than anything was the possibility of losing a teammate during a battle. They'd become like a family to him, so the thought of never having them around again really hurt inside. They were his _life_.

            And now that he was absolutely positive that Tony was Iron Man... As happy as he was to know who was at his side during every battle, the thought of losing his boyfriend and co-captain was something that he had to for himself _not_ to think about. While he'd trusted Iron Man before—the man had become a close friend, despite the lack of time he spent around the team, seeing that he claimed to have another life that was separate from his being Iron Man—it was nice to finally know who it was that he was trusting with his life.

            Tony _still_ hadn't told him that he was Iron Man just yet. They'd gone on quite a few more dates, and Tony seemed like he wanted to say something—he'd even mentioned that he had something important they needed to talk about, but...

            Now, as they went into battle, Steve couldn't help but worry. This was the first time that Bucky was fighting alongside the team as an official Avenger. He'd asked about Iron Man, and why the man didn't stay with the rest of the team. Steve had tried explaining how Iron Man's identity was secret, and how he had a life outside of being an Avenger that he didn't want to be affected by him being a superhero, but Bucky hadn't been so thrilled about the answer.

            "Who wouldn't want people to know that they were helping save the world?" Bucky had argued one day in the lab. "There's got to be some other reason that he's not telling you about. Are you sure that it's the same person in the suit every time?"

            "I know it's the same person every time," Steve had replied, not missing the look on Tony's face or the way he refused to talk about his 'bodyguard.' They needed to talk, they really did.

            But now, out in the battle, as worried as Steve always was, there was another part of him that knew his team would be fine. They were all highly skilled, intelligent people, and he trusted them to be able to handle themselves in the thick of battle. After all, he couldn't tell them what to do all of the time, he only came up with the overall strategy. They were incredible, all of them.

            Even now, with a new member on the team, they worked flawlessly together, able to give and accept a little help when needed as they took on Hydra.

            As wonderful as they worked together, though, a dangerous situation was a dangerous situation, and he was on edge.

            Hydra had tried stealing a shipment of weapons, hijacking a plane that was on its way to S.H.I.E.L.D. Luckily the team had managed to get on board and had started taking down the enemy agents.

            "I need a copilot," Clint called. Good, he'd managed to secure the controls, they could get the plane out of danger and save the crew.

            "Might want to let Tasha take it," Bucky said, grabbing Steve's wrist before he could run over to help the archer out. "After last time..."

            Steve frowned at him, rolling his eyes at the playful smirk on Bucky's face. "Sure, why not."

            "Cap," Iron Man managed, and Steve turned his attention back to the battle, ricocheting his shield off the wall to knock an agent off of Iron Man. He knew that the armored Avenger was struggling when it came to close combat, since he was so used to being able to do aerial strikes and maneuvers. Inside the plane was causing him to struggle some.

            "I'm here," Steve promised, staying back to back with Iron Man, making sure that no one was able to attack his blind spots. Most of his attacks had to be subdued so that the plane wasn't damaged by a high-powered repulsor blast, which also caused it to be harder to take enemies down.

            He'd need to do some more hand-to-hand training with Tony, just in case. And he'd offer some to Iron Man, because hand-to-hand couldn't be easy in that suit, so he'd need to get used to it.

            "It'd be easier if I could get outside," Iron Man grunted, knocking another Hydra agent away. "The suit's a bit heavy for fighting on the ground this close to everyone." When Iron Man turned and put a heavy armored hand on his shoulder, saying, "duck," he listened. "Barnes," Iron Man shouted, blasting a couple Hydra agents away from Bucky over Steve's shoulder.

            He made sure to keep the Hydra agents away from Iron Man's back while he shot down another couple Hydra agents. There were a bit too many for just the three of them to be fighting comfortably, but if they got to the controls... Clint and Natasha needed to be able to fly the plane, not deal with Hydra agents.

            "We're on our way to taking the plane down," Natasha informed the team, and Steve smiled.

            Good. Steve kept his focus on the battle at hand, trying to make sure that everything would be fine. After all, his team was everything to him. His mind was in four different places—thank God Bruce was able to stay at the tower, since the Hulk wouldn't do well on a plane—as he tried to keep an eye on Iron Man, Bucky, the Hydra agents he was fighting off, and make sure that no one tried to hurt Clint and Natasha.

            With his focus being near gone, Steve was surprised when suddenly Iron Man was in front of him, keeping him from getting shot by letting the armor taken the damage while Bucky took the men out.

            "Focus, Steve," Iron Man said, and even with the voice-changer that he had, it was easy for Steve to hear Tony's concerned voice now. "You don't need to keep watching everyone's back all the time. We can handle this."

            "I know you can," Steve murmured, smiling. "I trust you." It took all he had not to say 'I _love_ you,' because it was _Tony_. Soon, they'd talk. Soon. He still wished that he could see his boyfriend's face. "Let's go stop Hydra."

            He could only imagine the smile that would cross Tony's face, behind that mask. "Yeah, let's finish this."

            "I'm going to secure the weapons," Bucky called, running over to one of the other sections of the large plane. If Hydra got ahold of those weapons... He didn't know what _S.H.I.E.L.D._ needed those weapons before, but he'd rather they had them than Hydra.

            Taking Hydra down side by side with the man he loved was something that Steve had dreamed about, before he even knew that Tony was Iron Man. There were times when he thought about 'what if Tony was Iron Man' because it would've been so much more convenient—he'd be able to keep his boyfriend safe, he'd be able to fight alongside someone he knew that he could trust and love... and while he'd always trusted Iron Man, it was different _knowing_ who he was. It was wonderful.

            "Shellhead, stay close," Steve said when the armored Avenger struggled with close range fighting. He didn't argue, which meant that he knew that he needed some help. His teammate backed up, blasting one of the Hydra villains away from Steve, who offered him a quick thanks before more agents appeared.

            Fighting alongside Tony was a dream—keeping him safe, trusting him with his life, it was all just too perfect. And just like any dream, it had to end eventually. Steve fought harder, trying to force the thought from his mind. He'd do anything to keep his team, his family, safe. And if that meant he'd end up dead in place of them, then he'd _do_ that gladly.

            Until it came to that, though, he was going to enjoy every moment that he got with his team, and he was going to do anything he could to keep them safe.


End file.
